September 24, 2021 - The Iron Age Danube Route Magazine which was recently presented is now available online for free reading to better present the first cultural route in Croatia acknowledged by the European Council.

With the Iron Age Danube Route getting recognition as a cultural route by the European Council earlier in 2021, the Iron Age Danube Route Association continues to promote this valuable, educational, scientific, and tourist site in eastern Croatia.

As Zagreb's Archaeological Museum website informed its visitors, the first issue of the Iron Age Danube Route Magazine (written in English) has recently been presented, and you can download and read it as a PDF file.

The magazine's intention is to present the Iron Age Danube Route.

''We start with the basics by briefly explaining what the Iron Age was and then we go on to explain the route itself. After that, we invite you to follow the route by meeting the institutions and people behind the entire endeavor. Then you can check out our activities during this year (one little tip: it works even better if you check out the fresh information on our website),'' says the Archaeological Museum on its website.

The topics that will present how things were along the Danube back during the Iron Age include prehistoric landscapes, customs, and even gastronomy.

''The Iron Age Danube Route magazine — and indeed the route itself — not only wishes to demonstrate that the Danube of the Iron Age had an extremely interesting past but also seeks to ensure that it also has a future — a future you're all invited to share. Join us as readers or join us as tourists, if you wish. And who knows, one day, you might even think of joining us as partners. But whatever role you do reserve for yourself, two things are certain: first, you'll be most welcome, and second, there's no better way to start your journey than by continuing reading this magazine. We hope you will enjoy it!'' wrote Sanjin Mihelić, President of Iron Age Danube Route Association, in the magazine's editorial letter.

As TCN previously wrote, the European Council granted the culture route certificate to the Iron Age Danube Route, which stretches through Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, and Slovenia.

That certificate is important as it enhances the overall visibility of the site, allowing the public to become better informed about the area and enriching the overall Croatian cultural and tourist offer, creating new opportunities for business, scientific and educational purposes.

The Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, the Centre for Prehistoric Research, Kaptol County, Papuk Nature Park, and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb are the founders and partners of this international project that allows Croatia to learn more about its past while creating new opportunities for today's and future generations.

Did you know the Croatian Hero City of Vukovar is located along the Danube river? Learn more about it in our TC guide.

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August 20, 2021 - The Iron Age Danube Route is a new addition to the Croatian offer, relevant not just for tourism but for science, research, and education, and recognised by the European Council.

The Iron Age Danube Route addresses one of the most fragile, though imposing and attractive prehistoric archaeological phenomena, the Iron Age landscapes. Characterised by monumental structures, such as burial mound cemeteries, flat cemeteries, fortified hilltop settlements, and oppida, as well as elements indicating the complex organisation of space, Iron Age landscapes belong to the period between the 9th and the end of the 1st century BC, according to the official website of the Iron Age Danube Route Association (IADR).

This association was founded back in July 2020 with the goal of enhancing international scientific cooperation regarding the period of the Iron Age, as this is a period marked by an extraordinary corpus of movable and intangible heritage. The focus on the Danube region is, among other things, owing to this heritage being housed in numerous museums across the Danube region, including the most important regional and national institutions.

''Compiling the existing sources of knowledge and creating a strong interdisciplinary and international network of expert institutions from Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia in the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage protection, tourism, as well as local stakeholders, the Iron Age Danube Route Association was founded in July 2020 with the aim of the further development and management of the IADR,''

The Archaeological Museum in Zagreb is one of the founding partners of the association, and other institutions from Croatia include the Centre for Prehistoric Research, Kaptol County, Papuk Nature Park, and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb. Other partners include museums and faculties from Hungary, Austria, and Slovenia, all bringing their top experts in the field to the table for the association to work.

And that work paid off. As reported by the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb's website, the European Council granted the culture route certificate to the Iron Age Danube Route which stretches through Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, and Slovenia.

''This is the first culture route of The European Council with its headquarters in Croatia“, said the Museum's website adding that the route is managed by the Association.

''The Iron Age Danube Route matched the criteria by the five priority fields of action by the European Council. These include cooperation in research and development, the progression of European heritage and history, educational exchanges, youth culture, engagement within the frame of the current cultural and artistic practices and sustainable cultural tourism development,'' explained the website.

The certificate is important as it enhances the overall visibility of the sight, allowing the public to become better informed about the area, and enriching the overall Croatian cultural and tourist offer, creating new opportunities both for business and for scientific and educational purposes.

Did you know Vukovar is located along the Danube river? Learn more in our TC guide.

For more about Croatian history, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 11 July 2021, 2021 - The Iron Age Danube Route was formally presented in the archaeological park Necropolis under the Tumuli in the northern town of Goričan earlier this week as the first Council of Europe certified cultural route originating in Croatia.

The Iron Age Danube Route has the great potential to contribute to the diversification of the tourism industry in continental Croatia, the presentation was told.

Sandra Herman, State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, said that this cultural route runs through 14 continental counties.

"Sixteen percent of tourists who come to visit continental Croatia are motivated by culture, compared to thirteen percent in coastal destinations," she said.

The Council of Europe launched the Cultural Routes programme in 1987, certifying 45 routes since then, including 14 routes that pass through Croatia, said Tatjana Horvatić, head of the Department for Movable, Ethnographic and Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Media.

"The routes develop destinations that are not known well enough but are certainly attractive," she added.

The Iron Age Danube Route currently includes 22 members from six countries - Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany and Slovenia.

Rudi Grula, Director of the Međimurje County Tourism Board, said that the archaeological park the Necropolis under the Tumuli is the result of the years-long Interreg project Slovenia-Croatia. The park features a regional information centre and theme workshops on the Iron Age.

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